Ollie Watkins scored one goal and assisted two others as Aston Villa returned to winning ways with a stunning 5-0 victory at Sheffield United, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. 

John McGinn, Watkins, Leon Bailey, and Youri Tielemans scored in an 18-minute first-half spell before Alex Moreno rounded the victory off early in the second half.

Villa move back into the top four, two points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who were held at Everton at the start of the day.

How the match unfolded

Sheff Utd manager Chris Wilder made five changes from their midweek defeat to Crystal Palace, bringing in Mason Holgate for his debut after arriving on loan from Everton, with Wes Foderingham, William Osula, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Andre Brooks also coming in.

Unai Emery made two changes after losing to Newcastle United, Diego Carlos and Leon Bailey coming in for Matty Cash and Moussa Diaby.

The first chance fell Sheff Utd’s way as Ben Brereton Diaz broke into the box on 10 minutes and tested Emiliano Martinez.

Two minutes later Villa took over as John McGinn scored his sixth goal of the season. 

Watkins raced clear and lobbed Wes Foderingham, but his shot spun onto a post and McGinn scored the rebound with ease.

Watkins scored himself five minutes later to double Villa’s lead. After being played through brilliantly by Douglas Luiz, the striker slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner for his 11th goal of the campaign.

Things got worse for Sheff Utd when Leon Bailey made it 3-0 after 21 minutes with a superb curling effort from just inside the box.

Villa continued to push and got a fourth on the half-hour when Youri Tielemans scored his first league goal of the season, smashing the ball in off the bar.

Villa showed no mercy after half-time, taking less than 90 seconds from the start of the second half to make it 5-0 as Alex Moreno smashed the ball in from Watkins’ cross.

That made Watkins the first player to register double figures for goals (11) and assists (10) in the Premier League this season.

Sheff Utd briefly threatened as Villa eased off, but Martinez produced a brilliant save to deny Cameron Archer and maintain his clean sheet. 

Villa almost added a sixth goal, through deadline day arrival Morgan Rogers, but the signing from Middlesbrough blazed over.

Vinicius Souza did put the ball in the back of the net for Sheff Utd in stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.

The defeat leaves Sheff Utd with 10 points, 10 from safety at the bottom of the table.

Club reports

Sheff Utd report | Villa report

Match officials

Referee: Paul Tierney. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Scott Ledger. Fourth official: Sam Barrott. VAR: Jarred Gillett. Assistant VAR: Gary Beswick.